Asian Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 16, No.

1, 119139, January 2011

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN MALAYSIA
Rahizah Abd Rahim*, Farah Waheeda Jalaludin and Kasmah Tajuddin
Faculty of Accountancy and Management
University Tunku Abdul Rahman,
Lot PT 21144, Jalan Sungai Long,
Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras,
43000 Kajang, Selangor
*

Corresponding author: rahizah@utar.edu.my

ABSTRACT
Malaysian consumers should be more aware that, in pursuing their business objectives,
corporations now bear more responsibility towards society and the environment. The
awareness level has increased through better education and the increased influence of the
media. Corporations also now believe that, to a certain extent, the degree of their
involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) does have certain effect on
consumers' buying behaviour. This paper aims to examine the influence of CSR on the
buying behaviour of Malaysian consumers and whether they consider a corporation's
CSR initiatives before making any purchase decisions of the products and services. The
definition of CSR was adopted from Carroll's definition, which included economic, legal,
ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. A total of 220 structured questions were
distributed, with 193 returned for analysis. The results showed significant positive
relationships between all of the variables used in measuring CSR and consumers' buying
behaviour. Malaysian consumers' priority, however, seemed to be different from Carroll's
pyramid, where, although economic responsibility remained the utmost priority,
philanthropy stood second, followed by ethical and legal responsibility.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, consumer behaviour, Malaysia

INTRODUCTION
To date, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown to be an
unconscious practice not entirely under the regulations of any official laws or
legal bodies but more as a custom that an organisation should practice and obey.
However, for many organisations, it remains remarkably unfamiliar. In Malaysia,
quite a number of publicly listed companies tend to view CSR as a strategic
issue. Malaysian firms incorporate CSR into their corporate governance agenda
to become good corporate citizens in the Malaysian capital market (Saleh, 2009).
Asian Academy of Management and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011

Rahizah Abd Rahim et al.

By engaging in CSR activities, corporations will gain better recognition as

responsible corporate citizens from the perspective of international and local
investors. The traditional view of business is essentially to maximise profits.
However, the traditional views are no longer accepted in today's business
environment, where, as a result, corporations have adopted the concept of CSR,
which is concerned with economic, environment, and social performance. Of late,
the broader concept of CSR has been introduced, where the corporation's concern
is seen to be shifting to broader components of CSR, which includes stakeholders
as one of the most important components while not forgetting effects on the
environment or society.
The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is a CSR concept that takes into account the
impact of corporations' activities on people, the planet and profits. The human
component is also known as human capital, and the planet component refers to
natural capital. TBL has been recognised as a framework for measuring business
performance. The performance is being measured not only on profitability but
also on the efficiency of the organisation in managing its human and natural
capital. The environment (planet) has been considered one of the stakeholders of
corporations. Environmentally concerned consumers may not support products
and services from those corporations that harm the environment.
According to Carroll (1979), corporate social responsibility has been evolving as
early as the 1930s. CSR can be defined as treating the stakeholders of the firm
ethically or in a responsible manner. CSR is a concept whereby organisations
consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their
activities on stakeholders as well as the environment. This obligation is seen to
extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees
organisations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life
of employees and their families as well as the local community and society at
large.
Carroll (1991) suggested that CSR should be divided into four levels: economic,
legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Economic responsibility refers to
the profitability of the organisation, while legal responsibility is complying with
laws and regulation. As for the ethical perspective, the organisations' operation
should go beyond the laws to do the right thing in fair and just ways.
Philanthropic responsibility refers to voluntary giving and service to the society.
Today, consumers are more aware of the corporations' responsibility through
better education and through the influence of the media. It may no longer be
accepted for business organizations to neglect CSR. The role of businesses in
society is no longer focused on creating wealth alone but is also focused on
acting responsibly towards stakeholders (Harrison & Freeman, 1999).
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Corporations that do not equip themselves with CSR activities will often be left
behind with the increasing global competition and borderless markets, and
international corporations with sound CSR activities grow stronger (Altman,
2007). As the education level increases, consumers are made more aware of the
need for prosocial corporate behaviour.
A lot of work has been done in Western countries to identify an organisation's
behaviour regarding consumer purchasing decisions. However, not many studies
have been conducted in emerging markets, such as Malaysia. CSR activities
should enhance a corporation's image. According to Lafferty, Barbara and Ronald
(1999), a positive corporate image is positively correlated to purchase intention
and also helps consumers to differentiate between companies and their product or
service offerings. Therefore, loyalty and commitment from customers are likely
to increase if companies act responsibly and accountably in terms of their social
and environmental impact (Brown & Dacin, 1997; Pirsch, Gupta, & Grau, 2007).
This paper aims to examine the influence of CSR on the buying behaviour of
Malaysian consumers. We are interested in exploring whether consumers in
Malaysia consider organisations' CSR issues before associating themselves with
organisations' products and services. Apart from that, this study also aims to
identify the awareness level of Malaysian consumers towards CSR. The results of
this study will also be useful for business organisations in understanding the
consumers' priority for the CSR activities that they should be engaging in, and it
will contribute to the existing literature.
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. The next section will discuss
the literature review. The third section will explain on the methodology used. The
findings and discussion will be presented in the fourth section and will be
followed by conclusions and implications in the final section.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
In a seminal article, Carroll (1979) presented corporate social responsibility as a
construct that "encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary
expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time." In his
definition, Carroll argued that these responsibilities are performed not only for
the firm's sake but also for the sake of society at large. This means that
organisations by their very existence can be viewed as entering into a social
contract that obligates the corporation to take the interests of society into
consideration when making decisions (Andreasen & Drumwright, 2001).
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Carroll (1991) proposed four levels (pyramid) of CSR: economic, legal, ethical
and philanthropic responsibilities. The author defined economic responsibility as
the expectation of the corporation to maximise its earnings per share. Legal
responsibility refers to the obligation of obeying laws and regulations. Ethical
responsibility is the responsibility of doing what is expected morally and
ethically, whereas philanthropic responsibility refers to charitable expectations of
the society for the corporation. Based on these four components, a socially
responsible firm should strive to make a profit, obey the law, be ethical, and be a
good corporate citizen. The definition of CSR for this paper is based on the
Carroll's pyramid of CSR.
In Australia, Black (2001) presented an Australian model of CSR, where
economic responsibility was the most preferred responsibility, followed by legal,
philanthropic and ethical responsibility. In Malaysia, studies conducted by Tay
(2005) described CSR as the ways in which corporations meet their obligations
towards employees as well as their wider communities. Saleh (2009) also found
that corporations are seen as responsible corporate citizens by investors if they
are engaged in CSR activities. Societies do not oppose corporations' intent to
maximise their economic returns so long as they are done in consideration of
environmental stability and social development.
Mohr, Webb and Harris (2001) defined CSR as "a corporation's commitment in
minimising or eliminating any harmful effects and maximising its long-run
beneficial impact on society." The authors mentioned that socially responsible
behaviours include a broad array of actions, such as behaving ethically,
supporting the work of nonprofit organisations, treating employees fairly and
minimising damage to the environment. In other words, a socially responsible
corporation would consider the effects of its actions towards all people directly or
indirectly connected to the corporation.
Economic Responsibility
Historically, the social responsibility of corporations is economic responsibility.
In business institutions, economic responsibility is the basic unit in a corporation
(Carroll, 1979). To satisfy economic responsibility towards society, corporations
should provide goods and services that society wants at reasonable prices.
In addition, corporations have an economic responsibility towards themselves,
that is, making profits to be able to continue providing goods and services that
society needs and wants at reasonable prices. They also need to pay their
employees, increase value for their shareholders, and take care of the interests of
other stakeholders (Carroll, 1979). Economic responsibility is seen as the basic
obligation of corporations. According to McAlister, Ferrell, O. C and Ferrell, L.
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(2003), the economy is influenced by the ways in which the corporation relates to
its stakeholders, such as shareholders, employees, suppliers, competitors,
community, and even the natural environment. Economic responsibility lies in
maximising not only shareholders' interests but also other stakeholders' interests
as well.
According to the research conducted by Maignan and Ferrell (2004), in the US,
claiming to be a socially responsible organisation when the economic
achievements are not the greatest can be dangerous. Maignan and Ferrell (2004)
highlighted the experience of the ice cream manufacturer Ben and Jerry's Inc.,
which has been repeatedly accused of neglecting economic performance because
of its many philanthropic activities.
Legal Responsibility
In carrying out their economic responsibility, corporations are expected work
within the framework of laws and regulations as a partial fulfilment of the "social
contract" between corporations and society. Carroll (1991) stated that it is
important for legal responsibility to be performed in a manner that is consistent
with the expectations of governments and laws complying with the various
federal, state and local regulations. A successful corporation should be recognised
as one that fulfils its legal obligations.
Conchius (2006), on the other hand, stated that legal responsibility includes
abiding by consumer and product laws, environmental laws and employment
laws while also adhering to laws and regulations governing competition in the
marketplace. However, legal responsibilities do not embrace the full range of
behaviours expected of corporations by society. Laws are important, but they are
often inadequate. First, they cannot possibly address all of the issues or areas that
a corporation may face. Second, laws often lag behind more recent concepts of
what is considered right behaviour, and third, laws may represent the personal
interests and political motivations of legislators (Carroll, 1998).
Ethical Responsibility
Although economic and legal responsibilities represent ethical standards
concerning fairness and justice, ethical responsibility encompasses those
activities and practices expected or prohibited by society that expand beyond the
limitations of legal responsibilities. Ethical responsibility embodies those
standards and expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees,
shareholders, and the community regard as fair, just, or in keeping with the
respect or protection of stakeholders' moral rights (Carroll, 1979). This is
confirmed by Creyer and Ross (1997), who conducted a survey on the parents of
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elementary school students to measure responses to the ethical behaviour of

corporations. They found that most of the respondents expected corporations to
carry out their businesses ethically. Some of the respondents even expressed that
they were willing to pay higher prices for products of ethical corporations.
According to Carroll (1991), business performance can be determined by the
corporation's consistency in promoting morale and ethical standards. If a
corporation practises good corporate citizenship, the activities of the corporation
are trusted. Ethical responsibility also recognises that corporate integrity and
ethical behaviour should go beyond the requirements of laws and regulations.
Balancing economic, legal and ethical responsibilities is important. If the
corporation does something that is appropriately economic and legal, it must also
be appropriately ethical.
Philanthropic Responsibility
Philanthropic responsibility refers to corporate actions that are in response to
society's expectations of good corporate citizens. Corporate philanthropy is likely
to enhance the image of corporations especially those that have high public
visibility. Corporate philanthropy should also increase employee loyalty and
improve customer ties. Philanthropic activities include business contributions in
terms of financial resources or executive time, such as contributions to the arts,
education, or communities.
According to Carroll (1991), it is important for managers and employees to
participate in voluntary and charitable activities within their local communities,
especially in projects that enhance a community's quality of life. The
distinguishing characteristic between philanthropic and ethical responsibilities is
that philanthropic responsibilities are not expected in an ethical or moral sense.
Philanthropy is located at the most voluntary and discretionary dimension of
corporate responsibility and has not always been linked to profits or the ethical
culture of the firm (Ferrell, 2004).
Society desires corporations to contribute their money, facilities and employee
time to humanitarian programs or purposes, but society does not regard the
corporation as unethical if they do not achieve the level of philanthropic
responsibility. Although society wishes corporations to be philanthropic, it is
voluntary on the part of corporations (Carroll, 1991). According to Fombrun,
Gardberg and Barnett (2000), the case for philanthropy comes from two different
sources; strategic philanthropists argue that, although philanthropy may not
generate direct economic returns, it will enhance the firm's long-term competitive
position through intangible gains in reputation, legitimacy or employee loyalty.
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Stakeholder Theory
A compelling argument behind the motivation of firms to invest in CSR
programs comes from the domain of stakeholder theory (Argandona, 1998;
Freeman, 1984; Post, 2003). Stakeholder theory suggests that organisational
survival and success is contingent on satisfying both its economic (e.g., profit
maximisation) and noneconomic (e.g., corporate social performance) objectives
by meeting the needs of the company's various stakeholders (Pirsch, Gupta, &
Grau, 2007). Early research in the area of stakeholder management defines a
stakeholder in an organisation as any group or individual who can affect or is
affected by the achievement of the organisation's objectives (Freeman, 1984).
Primary stakeholder groups consist of shareholders and investors, employees,
customers, suppliers, public entities such as governments or other public
organisations that set laws and govern economic commerce (Clarkson, 1995), and
trade associations and environmental groups (Donaldson & Preston, 1995).
According to Savage, Nix, Whitehead and Blair (1991), secondary stakeholders
are diverse and include those who are not directly engaged in the organisation
economic activities but are able to exert influence or are affected by the
organisation.
Stakeholder theory suggests that firms are motivated to broaden their objectives
to include other goals in addition to profit maximisation. Based on this theory,
many companies embrace a CSR program as a way to promote socially
responsible actions and policies and to effectively respond to stakeholder
demands (Maignan & Farrell, 2004). Motivation for satisfying stakeholder
demands stems from the fact that addressing stakeholder needs can be correlated
with a firm's survival, economic well-being, competitive advantages, and the
development of trust and loyalty among its targeted customers (Mitchell, Agle, &
Wood, 1997).
Consumer Behaviour Towards CSR
This paper aims to examine consumers' buying behaviour towards CSR. We are
interested in exploring whether the consumers in Malaysia consider a
corporation's CSR initiatives before making any purchase decisions of the
products and services. In addition, we also seek to identify which type of CSR
component based on Carroll's pyramid of CSR will have significant impact on
consumers' buying behaviour.
Several studies have suggested that there is a positive relationship between a
corporation's CSR activities and consumers' attitudes towards that corporation
and its products (Brown & Dacin, 1997; Creyer Ross, 1997; Ellen, Webb, &
Mohr, 2000). Mohr, Webb and Harris (2001) examined the impact of CSR
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knowledge on consumers' attitudes and purchase decisions and whether CSR will
affect consumers' decisions and why it does or does not. Their survey attempts to
measure the size and composition of the consumer segment that is affected by
CSR, whereas their experiment attempts to determine whether CSR has a
significant impact on consumer responses. Their finding indicated a significant
relationship between CSR and consumer responses. Sen and Bhattacharya (2001)
research on reaction of consumers to CSR shows that CSR will directly affect
consumers' intentions to purchase corporation's products.
As cited in Pomering and Dolnicar (2008), marketplace polls reported that
consumers expect corporations to provide information about what they do, and
they will support those corporations that pursue CSR initiatives. Environics
International Ltd. (Environics, 1999) conducted a survey regarding consumer
responses towards corporate social responsibility. The result of the survey
indicated that Australians have the highest CSR consumer expectations from
businesses. A total of 86% of US respondents in the survey of Cone Inc. (2004)
said that corporations should provide information on how they support social
issues.
The findings of Creyer and Ross (1997) indicated that consumers regard ethical
behaviour as an important consideration during their purchase decisions. Tay
(2005) concluded that as society becomes more affluent and faces an increase in
the level of awareness among consumers, these consumers become more
sensitive to the ways in which corporations behave, which in turn may influence
their buying decision behaviour. On the other hand, Dahl and Lavack (1995)
manipulated the size of donations and found that a product was evaluated as
being more appealing when the donation was larger (i.e., 10 cents per package of
juice) and that the company was evaluated as exploiting the nonprofit
organisations when the donation was smaller (i.e., one-fourth of a cent per
package).
Maignan (2001) who conducted studies in Germany and France, found that the
respondents viewed legal concerns as the most important responsibility, followed
by ethical, philanthropic and then economic responsibilities. According to Visser
(2005), the CSR pyramid in Africa differs from Carroll's classic pyramid. In
Africa, economic responsibility was the responsibility most preferred by
consumers. However, the second most preferred responsibility was philanthropic
responsibility, followed by legal and ethical responsibilities.
Although ample evidence exists supporting the idea that companies that invest in
CSR will achieve positive benefits across all stakeholder groups in Western
countries, this paper proposes that companies in Malaysia can also maximise
consumer stakeholders' response to CSR programs in the marketplace by
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carefully identifying which categories of CSR affect or are noticed by consumers

the most. By understanding these connections, managers can adopt a specific
category of a CSR program contingent on the desired response from the
consumer stakeholder group. In addition, the findings of this research will also
contribute to academicians as well as public policymakers. Figure 1 shows the
conceptual framework of this study.
Independent Variables

Dependent Variable

Economic Responsibility

Legal Responsibility
Consumer Behaviour
Ethical Responsibility

Philanthropic
Responsibility

Figure 1. Conceptual framework

RESEARCH METHOD
A questionnaire survey was carried out to collect the view of consumers in
Malaysia. As the study aims to examine the importance of CSR on consumers'
buying behaviour in Malaysia, our target population comprised all of the
consumers in Malaysia without referring to any specific consumer group. Though
Malaysia has a combined population of over 20 million people, due to time
constraints, a total of 220 consumers were selected as our respondents. The
questionnaires were conveniently distributed to consumers in five different states
in Malaysia including Johor, Perak, Selangor, Sabah and Sarawak. Roscoe (1975)
recommended that sample sizes larger than 30 and less than 500 are appropriate
for most studies.
The survey was carried out between the months of January and March in 2008.
Four research associates were responsible for delivering the questionnaires. Of
the 220 questionnaires distributed, a total of 200 questionnaires were returned.
Seven of the completed questionnaires were unusable, leaving a total of 193
usable replies.

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The questionnaire consists of three major sections. Section A gathers information

on consumers' awareness towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). This
section covers some general questions to obtain the respondent's understanding of
the term CSR, which indicates the ability of the respondent to complete the rest
of the questionnaire. The respondents who indicated having no knowledge in
CSR were not included in the data analysis.
Section B covers statements on consumer behaviour towards CSR activities
engaged by the business organisations. The statements were divided into four
subsections based on Carroll's pyramid of CSR, which include economic, legal,
ethical and philanthropic responsibilities.
Section C gathers demographic information of the respondents such as gender,
age, race, education level and monthly income level. Section A and Section C
were designed using nominal scales, whereas Section B was designed using a
five-point Likert scale ranging from "1" for "strongly disagree" to "5" for
"strongly agree".
Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was used to evaluate the reliability of the measures.
Reliability is a degree to which measures are free from error and therefore yield a
consistent result (Zikmund, 2003) and hence offer a consistent measurement
across time and across the various items in the instrument. The Cronbach's Alpha
coefficient for the four independent variables and one dependent variable was
0.759. According to the rule of thumb of Cronbach's Alpha coefficient (Zikmund,
2003), the reliability of data set is acceptable if Cronbach's Alpha is above 0.7.
The data obtained were analysed using the SPSS software, where descriptive and
multiple linear regression statistics were used to analyse the data. Descriptive
statistics were used to analyse the data in Sections A and C of the questionnaire,
whereas multiple linear regressions were used to analyse the data in Section B.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Consumer General Awareness Towards CSR
This section presents the results of the findings on the respondent's general
awareness towards CSR. The summary of the findings is shown in Table 1. Based
on the 200 questionnaires returned, 28.6% of the respondents said that they
understood the concept of CSR well, whereas the other 40.4% respondents
indicated that they understood the concept of CSR moderately. On the other hand,
27.5% of the respondents indicated that they had little understanding of CSR, and
3.5% of them indicated having no understanding of CSR. This finding indicates
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that the majority of the respondents seem to have a good understanding of CSR.
Because 3.5% (7 in terms of number) of the respondents indicated that they do
not have any knowledge of CSR, we decided to exclude these respondents'
opinion in the subsequent analysis.
Out of the five statements posed on the definition of CSR, the finding shows that
participating in community services has obtained the highest frequency (150
counts), followed closely by contribution to charitable organisations (143 counts).
Upholding human rights and minimising discrimination (103 counts) was the
third choice, followed by compliance with the law and regulations (101 counts).
Maximising shareholders' value ranked the lowest, indicating that respondents
felt that business organisations should consider society first rather than
maximising their shareholders' value.
Table 1
Consumer general awareness on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Knowledge level on CSR

Well understood

28.6

Moderately understood

40.4

Little understood

27.5

Not at all

3.5

Definition of CSR

Frequency

Maximizing shareholders' value

78

Complying with law and regulation

101

Contribute to charitable organisations

143

Participating in community services

150

Upholding human rights and minimising

discrimination

103

CSR activities that the organisation should be

involved in

Frequency

Donation

160

Community work

165

Education sponsorship

145

Environmental protection

155

Wildlife protection

150

Sport sponsorship

70

Maximizing shareholders' value

80

Produce safe products

135

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As for the CSR activities that the organisation should be involved in, community
work and donation scored the highest, followed closely by environmental
protection, wildlife protection and producing safe products. Sport sponsorship
and maximising shareholders' value were the activities least chosen by the
respondents. The finding on the CSR activities seems to be in line with the
finding of the definition of CSR above, where the majority of the respondents
indicated that it is vital for business organisations to be involved with the
community services and to contribute to charitable organisations in order to show
that they are responsible corporate citizens. In addition, the finding of our study
on the importance of donation as one of the activities that the organisation should
be involved in is consistent with Dahl and Lavack (1995). Carroll (1991) also
suggested that it is important for managers and employees to participate in
voluntary and charitable activities within their local community, especially in
projects that enhance the community's quality of life.
Sample Characteristics
This section presents the background of the survey respondents. The summary of
the background is laid down in Table 2.
Table 2
Summary of sample characteristics
Gender

Male

40.4

Female

59.6

Age
Below 20

2.1

2130

61.1

3140

19.2

Above 40

17.6

Race
Malay

28

Chinese

51.3

Indian

12.1

Others

8.1
(continued)

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Table 2 (continued)
Education level

SPM / O-level

11.9

UEC

2.1

STPM / A-level

11.9

Diploma

19.2

Degree and above

54.9

Monthly income level

Below RM1000

28

RM1001RM1500

15.5

RM1501RM2000

21.8

Above RM2000

34.7

In total, females represent 59.6% of the respondents, whereas males represent

40.4%. Respondents were divided into four age categories: below 20, 21 to 30
years old, 31 to 40 years old and above 40. The majority of the respondents
(61.1%) were between 21 and 30 years old during the survey period, whereas
those respondents who were below 20 years old were the minority.
Chinese represents the highest percentage of the total respondents followed by
Malay, Indian and others. As for the academic qualification of the respondents,
they ranged from Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to degree and above and the
majority of the respondents (54.9%) held at least a degree qualification, which
indicates that majority of the respondents should have some idea about CSR.
Regarding income level, the majority of the respondents (56.5%) with at least a
degree qualification earned more than RM1500 a month during the survey period.
Impact of CSR Activities on Consumers' Buying Behaviour
Multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis is a method used to draw a linear
relationship between few independent variables and dependent variables. In this
research, MLR was used to measure the strength of association (linear
relationship) between consumers' buying behaviour and CSR activities.
Additionally, it helps to determine the percentage of variance in four CSR
dimensions, which can significantly explain consumers' buying behaviour. The
values of multiple correlation coefficients (R) can lie only within the range from
1 to +1. A perfect positive association will be reflected by the correlation of +1;
a perfect negative association will be reflected by the correlation of 1; and the
absence of association will produce a correlation of approximately zero.
According to the model summary of multiple regressions in Table 3, the multiple
R is 0.572. Because multiple R is positive in value, it shows that there is a
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positive linear relationship between ethical, legal, economic and philanthropic

activities and consumers' buying behaviour.
Table 3
Model summary of multiple regressions
Model

Adjusted R

Std. error of the estimate

CSR CB

.572

.327

.312

.36482

Note: CSR: corporate social responsibility components which include ethical, economic, philanthropic, legal
CB: consumer behaviour

The R square (coefficient of determination) is a portion of the total variation in

the dependent variable that is explained by the variation in the independent
variables. According to the model summary, R square is equal to 0.327, which is
less than 1. This indicates that there is a weak linear relationship between CSR
activities and consumers' buying behaviour. Approximately 32.7% of variance in
all the CSR components can significantly explain consumers' buying behaviour.
The finding suggests that aside from CSR components, there are many other
factors that might also influence consumers' buying behaviour, such as product
characteristics, pricing strategy, marketing and promotions, and the availability of
substitutes.
An analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to test whether there is a significant
linear relationship between the combination of the four CSR components and
consumers' buying behaviour. According to Table 4, the p-value is .000,
indicating that the four CSR components significantly influence consumers'
buying behaviour.
Table 4
ANOVAb of multiple regressions
Sum of
squares

df

Regression

12.146

3.036

Residual

25.021

188

.133

37.167

192

Model
CSR CB
Total

Mean square

F
22.815

Sig.
.000a

Note: Predictors (CSR): constant, corporate social responsibility components i.e. ethical, economic,
philanthropic, legal
b
Dependent Variable (CB): consumer behaviour

A coefficient table is another important table to explain the relationship between

the four CSR components and consumers' buying behaviour. Based on the
significance (Sig.) column in Table 5, the p-value for each CSR component is less

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than 0.05, which indicates that all the CSR components have a significant
relationship with consumers' buying behaviour.
Table 5
Coefficientsa of multiple regressions
Model
CSR CB

Unstandardised
coefficients
Beta

Standardised
coefficients

Std. error

Sig.

Beta

(Constant)

1.285

.324

3.968

.000

Economic

.258

.068

.253

3.776

.000

Legal

.111

.053

.148

2.087

.038

Ethical

.165

.068

.170

2.416

.017

Philanthropic

.167

.055

.211

3.052

.003

Note: Dependent Variable: Consumer Behavior (CB)

The result of this study seems to be consistent with that of Sen and Bhattacharya
(2001), who indicated that CSR directly affects consumers' intentions to purchase
corporation's products. In addition, the result of this study also supported the
finding of Pomering and Dolnicar (2008), whose marketplace polls reported that
consumers expect corporations to provide information about what they do and
will support corporations that pursue CSR initiatives. On the other hand, our
finding is consistent with that of Mohr, Webb and Harris (2001), who indicated
that CSR has a significant impact on consumer responses. The result of this
finding is also consistent with that of Creyer and Ross (1997), who indicated that
consumers regard ethical behaviour as an important consideration during the
purchase decision.
In Table 5, the unstandardised beta coefficient is used for the values of the
numbers in the linear regression equation. Theory explains that a higher beta
value indicates a greater impact of the independent variable on the dependent
variable. The independent variable (CSR components) can be ranked according to
the magnitude of the beta coefficient to determine which component has the most
significant impact on consumers' buying behaviour.
These figures of the unstandardised beta coefficient are also used to formulate the
multiple linear regression equation. The multiple regression equation takes the
form of y = c + 1 1 + 2 2 + 3 3 + 4 4. The represents the regression
coefficients, representing the amount that dependent variable y changes when the
corresponding independent variable changes by 1 unit. The c is the constant,
where the regression line intercepts the y axis, representing the amount of the
dependent y when all of the independent variables are 0. The ratio of the beta
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coefficients is the ratio of the relative predictive power of the independent

variables. Therefore, the multiple regressions equation of this study is:
Consumer Behaviour = 1.285 + 0.258 Economic Responsibility
+ 0.167 Philanthropic Responsibility + 0.165 Ethical
Responsibility + 0.111 Legal Responsibility.
Based on the result obtained, the economic responsibility attribute has the most
significant impact on consumers' buying behaviour, as it has the highest beta
value, followed by philanthropic responsibility, ethical responsibility and, finally,
legal responsibility. The priority on CSR for the consumers in Malaysia was
nevertheless different from Carroll's pyramid. Carroll (1979) suggested that for
business institutions, economic responsibility is their most basic responsibility,
followed by legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and philanthropic
responsibility. In addition, our finding is also different from that of Maignan
(2001), who found legal concerns to be the most important responsibility of
corporations, followed by ethical, philanthropic and economic responsibilities.
Accordingly, our finding is also different from that of Visser (2005), who
studying the case in Africa, found that economic responsibility was the most
preferred responsibility, followed by philanthropic, legal and ethical
responsibilities.
Malaysian consumers seem to view CSR priority differently from other nations.
Economic responsibility was still the basic utmost priority preferred. However,
they ranked philanthropic responsibility as the second most important
responsibility compared with legal responsibility as suggested by Carroll, and
legal responsibility was ranked last, as opposed to philanthropic responsibility, as
in Carroll's pyramid. It is not surprising that Malaysian consumers see
corporations' philanthropic responsibility as being more important than their legal
responsibility. Consumers want corporations to contribute their money, facilities
and employees' time to humanitarian programs or purposes. Malaysians have
been known as one of the most generous nations in the world. For example, the
country's rate of donation and participation in helping the victims of natural
disasters in the world has always been very encouraging. In addition, we have
always heard that the generous Malaysians have made financial pledges and
contributions to help those in need, they be orphaned children, the poor, accident
victims and so on. Although the Malaysian consumers themselves have been very
generous, the expectation for business institutions to do the same is
unquestionable.
As for complying with rules and regulations, it is not surprising that Malaysian
consumers ranked legal responsibility last compared with Carroll's pyramid,
which suggested that legal responsibility is the next most important responsibility
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after economic. According to Conchius (2006), legal responsibility includes

abiding by consumer and product laws, environmental laws and employment
laws and adhering to laws and regulations governing competition in the
marketplace.
Compared with those in developed nations, Malaysians regard rules lightly, to a
certain extent, as we have always heard from the news about how Malaysians
bend and ignore stipulated rules and regulations. Among the most common
examples are the bending of traffic rules and regulations promoting
environmental protection. Weak enforcement as compared with the developed
nations may be one of the contributing factors that make Malaysians view rules
and regulations lightly. As such, it is not surprising that the Malaysian consumers
rank corporations' legal responsibility last compared with their economic,
philanthropic and ethical responsibilities.
Although the Malaysian government is trying to enforce greater legislation
governing business organisations, to our respondents, obeying the law is the
organisations' responsibility least likely to affect their buying behaviour.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

For academicians, this research makes a contribution to the understanding the
underlying dynamics of the role of corporate social responsibility in consumers'
buying behaviour. The result of this study indicates that all of the CSR
components have a significant relationship with consumers' buying behaviour.
However, the limitations of this study must also be considered. The major
limitation relates to the sample. With only 193 usable respondents, this sample
size might limit the external validity of the findings. The number of respondents
should be extended for future research to improve the validity of the findings. In
addition, there are still areas that can be staged for future research, such as
research focusing on the different perspectives of race, gender and age groups
towards CSR, consumer awareness of socially irresponsible behaviours of
companies, how much knowledge consumers think they have and how accurate
their knowledge of CSR is, what their CSR sources of information are and which
sources of information are the most influential.
Managers should note that this research supports previous results reported in the
literature, suggesting that a substantial, viable and identifiable consumer group
exists that considers a company's level of social responsibility in its purchase
decisions. Manufacturers and retailers have an opportunity to appeal to this group
while simultaneously meeting their business objectives and make contributions to
society. Managers should also note that Malaysian consumers have clearly
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indicated their ranking on the most preferred CSR activities that need to be
engaged by the corporations, and the ranking seems to be quite different from the
findings in other nations. Based on the finding of this study, managers could use
the information to develop effective marketing communications that provide
details about how their companies have engaged in corporate social responsibility
activities. The type of CSR activities that should be engaged by the corporations
should preferably be based on the priority indicated in the finding of this study,
where the economic responsibility attribute has the most significant impact on
consumers' buying behaviour, followed by philanthropic responsibility, ethical
responsibility and finally, legal responsibility. However, companies that promote
themselves as socially responsible need to be prepared to deal with criticisms of
any irresponsible behaviour they are seen as committing, as information travels
within seconds in this information technology era. In contrast, companies who
disregard expectations concerning social responsibly may risk consumer boycotts
as a result of the strengthening of consumers' awareness and rights in today's
business world.
In addition, for public policymakers, this study suggests an important opportunity
to encourage the engagement and disclosure of CSR activities among all types of
business holdings, as the findings suggest that CSR components have a
significant relationship with consumers' buying behaviour. Although it has been
made mandatory for the public listed companies in Malaysia to disclose at least a
statement on their CSR activities starting from the 2007 financial year-end, not
much has been done to address the CSR activities' disclosure on other types of
business holdings, such as small and medium enterprises. Policymakers could use
the findings from this research to set minimum standards for CSR compliance by
corporations, whether regulated or voluntary. Corporations in turn could benefit
from the consumer support, which has the reciprocal effect of an increase in
reputation and brand image and an increase in the ability to attract institutional
investors. All of these effects will definitely produce short-term and long-term
corporate performance, as desired by all corporations.

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